A review of the controversial International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has been sanctioned by Commissioner Michel Barnier to start early this year, in what amounts to a major breakthrough in a long-running campaign supported by The Daily Telegraph.

Investors from 10 leading groups – including Threadneedle Investments, the Co-Operative Asset Management, London Pension Fund Authority and Railpen – secretly wrote to Mr Barnier in October with a warning that the accounting rules were harming shareholders, and destabilising banks and the economy.

The group also wrote to Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, but, since previous warnings to the Coalition and the London-based International Accounting Standards Board had gone unanswered, they appealed directly for help from Brussels.

Replying in a letter to the investors, Olivier Guersent, the head of Mr Barnier’s cabinet, wrote that he “shared the concerns” of investors over IFRS. He said that warnings that the rules exacerbated the financial crisis were “legitimate questions”.

I am delighted by this.

Let’s hope they look at why the International Accounting Standards Board that is responsible for International Financial Reporting Standard refuses to embrace country-by-country reporting as a key item on the review agenda.

This indeed is interesting that IFRS does not wish to be interested in country by country reporting which is the most essential aspect to capture shifting of profits, a fact that is also highlighted by Reymond Becker and all issues relating to transfer pricing could be addressed in ample manner as transfer to another tax jurisdiction would be simpler to observe from such reporting. It is for this reason the custodians of large corporate dissuade tax authorities from such reportage. I find you championing the cause of such reporting which is quite commendable.